


Walking A Sword's Edge

by lorderagon



Category: Fallout 4
Genre: Established Relationship, First Time, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-13
Updated: 2017-07-13
Packaged: 2018-12-01 13:28:39
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,527
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11487354
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lorderagon/pseuds/lorderagon
Summary: SS Zack is haunted by the ghost of his dead wife, and driven by revenge against the Institute. He fell in love with the ghoul Mayor of Goodneighbor, but cant seem to focus is energy on said love. Hancock, senses this split attention, and patiently waits for Zack to find whatever it is he is looking for. Besides Hancock has a few distracting ghosts himself.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Zack picked up Hancock shortly after Dangerous minds. He needed caps for parts to his power armor, and ended up throwing in with Bobbi No Nose because she said she had a big score. Of course, if you have played the game, we know that is the only way to pick up Hancock. The present time of this story is taking place during Synth Retention. 
> 
> I added a random original character named Ruby. I thought at first I would have a direction to go with her, but it might fall flat and pointless, so sorry for that. I left her in anyway because I didn't want to try and edit her back out. All mistakes are mine. I don't have a Beta, and I'm not even sure where to find one. I did copyright the game a little bit. I just added the various conversations you would have with Hancock in the game that lead to romancing him. (Bad kid)
> 
> I bounce between the three different characters POV in this story, and there is a lot o flashbacks too. Might be a little confusing... Sorry. Just let me know and I will try to fix it up.
> 
> Also, I felt really inspired by whatshappeningcowboy's MacCready/Sole story Chivalry. I hope I didn't really steal anything directly from her story. Though the deathclaw part may have been like an "Oh I should add that in too." moment. For that I feel I should give her credit for it. You all should check her story out though, it was an amazing read.

Ruby

The sole survivor looked down at the little red headed girl who sat in her parent’s blood. He had responded to a distress call for the minutemen, but he'd arrived too late to help them. Instead he'd gotten there just in time to kill the raiders while they searched for the girl and ransacked the place. His combat rifle had put them down without any trouble. Now he looked on as the girl wept for her parents who had died protecting her. Guilt twisted his stomach and the only thing that could make him feel less like a failure was the thought that he couldn't save them all. Curie watched too, and she fidgeted with her curiosity. One look at him silenced her.

"My name is Zack." He said softly to the girl. She turned her tear streaked gaze on him and her eyes narrowed like that of an angry cat.

"Why didn't you come sooner?" She snarled at him. He felt his heart split in half just a bit more.

"I'm sorry." He murmured. She scowled at him for another 30 seconds then looked back at her parents. Her hand came up to her face and she swiped away the tears before getting up.

"At least you killed the bastard." She said as she walked over and kicked his lifeless body. "I hate ghouls." The girl continued as she spat on the leader of the raiders. Finally, her eyes met Zack's and he could see it was all an act, but he would allow her to continue her charade. "My name is Ruby." In a gesture of peace, she held out her hand to him. He took it even though it was covered in the blood of her parents.

"Uh, Ruby, I'd like you to come with me. I have another settlement near here."

"OK." She said in a wobbly sort of voice that made Zack think she was going to cry again, but she looked at him with a sort of determination as she held the tears at bay. "Can we give my parents a proper burial first though?" She asked him.

"Yes." He watched as she dug the holes. She wouldn't allow him to help her. Didn't even allow him to help lift her parent’s bodies either. She struggled but finally managed to get both of their bodies in the large grave. Before she shoveled the dirt back over their bodies she said her goodbyes. She cried but Zack pretended not to notice. Instead he stood like a sentry with his gun in his hand, and scanned the hills for any signs of attack. Curie watched the girl with pure fascination but kept her thoughts or questions to herself. She had traveled long enough with the sole survivor to know when he was in no mood for questions. When Ruby was done, she collapsed from exhaustion. Zack lifted her into his arms and carried her to the nearby settlement known as the Starlight Drive-in.

When she awoke the next day, she was laid out on a bed in a large wooden room. In a row along the wall, her bed and about twelve more beds were lined up; with footlockers at the end of each bed. She peered about the room in awe at the electric lights lighting the room and the beautiful picture frames along the walls. Either side of the door there were potted plants, and there was even a sectioned off wall for a bathroom. She thought at first that she had died and went to heaven, but upon more exploring she found she was at a settlement. The building had an upstairs but she didn't go explore up there just yet. First, she had to see her savior.

Ruby stepped out into the daylight and peered around the giant settlement. To her right the pre-war decayed screen stood taller than any wall she had ever seen. To her left stood the building that once housed concessions and the projector. All along the broken building, turrets buzzed and swiveled left to right. In front of her, stood trading posts and picnic benches. Her hero sat at one of those benches with a ghoul dressed in a red frock and a tri-cornered hat. Her eyes focused on the sole survivor, and she acted like the ghoul wasn't even there as she approached the table.

"Ah, you are awake." Zack said to her when she got close enough to him. "I hope you slept well." He continued when she didn't immediately answer him. The red head nodded to him, and stood silently staring at him. He stared at her and then turned his head to Hancock. "Hancock, I'll catch up with you later." His hand touched Hancock's knee and rested there as he spoke. The girl narrowed her eyes at the gesture. She may be young but she wasn't stupid.

"Yeah, I think a bit of a chem break is in order." Hancock chuckled, as he got up and walked away from the two. Curie scooted closer with her own plate of food, and gestured for Ruby to sit. Zack turned his attention back to the girl.

"I know you lost your family, but not all ghouls are bad." Zack said softly. "Hancock is probably one of the best ones out there." Curie looked at him in surprise, but did not speak. Ruby opened her mouth several times and then closed it too.

"He does chems." She said finally. Zack nodded, but didn't say anything in reply. "I will try to keep an open mind but I can't promise anything." Again, the sole survivor nodded. She was probably still raw from her parent’s deaths so he probably could have allowed her to slide. Hancock was his, and he wouldn't allow unkindness towards the ghoul. Not to mention, Zack’s settlements were safe havens for anyone in the Commonwealth. Ghouls who couldn’t make it to Good Neighbor or the Slog, included.

"Would you like some food?" Zack asked.

"Yes, please." He got up to get some food for her and she tried to protest but he gave her a staying hand. When he came back Curie was asking her questions about survival in the wasteland. Ruby seemed to enjoy the talk but got emotional sometimes when she would accidentally talk about her parents like they were still alive. Zack understood her pain but he also knew she was a strong kid. She would make it.

"So, do you have anything for me to do around here?" The girl asked after a particularly long silence. Zack nodded his head and motioned for her to follow him. He took her to the little field of crops and had her start to work on a row of tatoes. He took the other person working on those same tatoes, and sent them to a defense post. "I could have helped with defense." She said meekly. He nodded and put a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"Do good with the tatoes and I'll switch you to defense. The people of this settlement welcome newcomers but you have to earn their trust." She nodded her understanding and smiled at him. Warmth had pooled where he touched her making her thoughts fuzzy. He returned her smile, and left her to her work.

Hancock

Zack made his way through the old concessions building, and went up the stairs to the old projector room. There he found Hancock laying on their shared bed, riding out a mentats high. He sat down on the edge of the bed and placed his hand on Hancock's thigh. The ghoul looked over at him and smiled at him. It was a hazed, doped out sort of smile but a smile none the less.

"Keep that up and that girl is going to fall in love with you." Hancock chuckled. Zack shook his head.

"I am her savior in her mind. Of course she'll be infatuated with me for a while. Best that I keep my distance. She is young and soon she'll realize that she doesn't really love me." Hancock laughed and shook his head.

"They just fall down at your feet, don't they?" It was Zack's turn to laugh and shake his head. His hand moved to Hancock's but the ghoul moved his out from under Zack's subtlety. They loved each other but Hancock was embarrassed about his ghoulish state. He didn't like being touched anywhere that his clothes didn't cover. If they kissed it was only briefly, and Zack had never seen Hancock naked. It was sort of an oddity about Hancock that made him very real to Zack. Nothing ever seemed to bother the ghoul, and the only reason Zack knew about such things was because he watched and listened. Hancock never and would never come right out and share his feelings.

"No, I am nothing special." Zack said on a chuckle. "In the morning, I will be heading out again." He said more serious this time. Hancock turned his gaze on his love and nodded. "I'll be taking Curie with me." Hancock nodded again. The Ghoul knew that Zack and Curie had something between them at some point. It was obvious with the way the synth acted around the survivor. Giddy as a fucking school girl, whenever Zack so much as looked at her. It was also apparent that Zack had made the rounds with many of his other companions. Hancock had made it a hobby to figure out which was first. He had surmised Cait had been first. It was down to MacCready or Curie next. Anytime Zack saw MacCready the man would comment that he thought he was forgotten about. MacCready was also pathetically clingy to the Sole Survivor. Piper had certainly slept with Zack at one point or another as well. Though surprisingly, she wasn’t clingy or boisterous about it. Hancock had been the last, but he'd never gotten to home run with him. Sometimes, he wondered if Zack took the others out with him so he could get laid, but he would probably never know. He didn't truly want to know.

"It’s a mission for the institute." Zack was saying now. "I have to track down a rogue synth. X6-88 is supposed to meet me, but I want Curie along for back-up."

"If you don't fully trust the institute, then why do you keep working for them?" Hancock asked. Zack’s face closed down, and he looked away from the Ghoul.

“Why don’t you head up to Taffington Boathouse?” Zack said still staring off into space. He sounded like he was a million miles away. Hancock really never got the whole story of Zack’s history. He didn’t know what beef he had with The Institute. He just knew that the sole survivor had gone to the ends of the Commonwealth to get into the Institute. Now that he was there it seemed he was working in complete opposite of everything he built. “I’ll meet you in a few days after I am done with this synth.” With that said, Zack turned back, kissed Hancock quickly, and made his way down the stairs.

Hancock picked up his pack, and made his way down the stairs a few moments later. He put some purified water, some more chems, and some spare ammo into his pack from the supply at the bottom of the stairs. He waved to MacCready, and Cait on his way out of the settlement.

Hancock thought a lot about Zack as he walked down the road to Taffington Boathouse. He thought about the day they met in Good Neighbor. Zack had just walked through the gate, and had gotten stopped by some dick looking to extort newcomers. Hancock had been talking with a watchman and happened to overhear the conversation. He turned to put an end to the extortion when he saw the newcomer for the first time. He was all muscle, smoldering green eyes, and alpha maleness. Hancock fell in lust instantly, and wanted to make a good impression. He stabbed the man, and approached smoothly to ask if the newcomer was OK. They introduced themselves to each other, and parted ways. Hancock secretly hoped he could meet the stranger again.  
  
His wish had come true when Bobbi No Nose tried to steal from him. He had caught onto the plan early on, and he had dispatched Fahrenheit to take care of the intruders. His bodyguard had returned with Zack in toe. Zack asked for his forgiveness and explained that he knew nothing of what Bobbi had planned. Hancock believed him. Zack was completely sincere and Hancock liked that quality in a man. He had been thinking for some time now that he was getting a little too kingly, so to speak, in his position as mayor. The newcomer now presented Hancock with an opportunity to get back amongst the people he was fighting for as well as a chance to get to know the rugged stranger. He had offered his help and companionship to Zack in which the man accepted.  
  
They traveled for weeks together in complete bliss. Zack was easy to talk to. He listened when Hancock spoke, he laughed at all of Hancock's ghoul jokes, and he flirted shamelessly back when the ghoul flirted with him. For some reason, Zack had to go into the Glowing Sea, so they spent a lot of time working for the minutemen and looking for parts for a power armor. Zack needed the power armor to protect him from the radiation that was constantly rolling in the Glowing Sea. The Ghoul found himself falling for the soldier boy as they helped settlers with feral ghouls, or Super Mutants. Zack always had a kind word for everyone, and always willing to help in any way he could.

To the Ghoul’s disgust, Zack was working for the Brotherhood of Steel. Zack had responded to a Military beacon that had ordered him back to the Police Station, where Paladin Danse was waiting for him. Paladin Danse was a pompous piece of shit who didn’t have any problem voicing his dislike of ghouls. Hancock himself included. Somehow, Zack had gotten the big tin head to back away from Hancock and leave him alone. Anyway, Paladin Arrogance, had them climb into a Vertibird and take them to all the tin can’s home base in the sky. There, Zack was given new orders, and he was awarded a suit of power armor. Now equipped with a perfectly good power armor, Zack was able to make his journey into the Glowing Sea.

“You sure that is going to protect you? The Brotherhood of Steel isn’t known for sharing their technology without a hitch. You could end up looking as handsome as me.” Hancock had told him while they sat on the floor in the Red Rocket Truck Stop garage. “Why do you need to go down there anyway?” He asked, when Zack just nodded, and continued to stare at the shiny Power Armor. His eyes were unfocused and he seemed to be a million miles away. Which Hancock was learning was a common sight of Zack whenever the Institute was mentioned.

“We are tracking down an Institute doctor.” The Ghoul stared at him, but Zack still didn’t look at him. The silence fell over them like a heavy fog, and finally, Zack seemed to come back to himself.

“The Institute? Man, they are a bad force in this world, even worse than the Brotherhood. You sure you want to go after them?”

“Yes.” Zack replied curtly. That effectively ended the discussion. Zack stood, and went to the makeshift bathroom to wash up, and get ready for bed. He had built a little bedroom in the office behind the counter. Hancock used a bed right behind the counter. No one else seemed to be using it so he had taken it over. He had nothing to personalize it, and his pack of chems he just left lying under the bed. He laid down, and puffed on a cigarette while he thought of their trip in the morning. He had never been down there, but he didn’t think it was such a good idea to go. Deathclaws, Radscorpions, and all sorts of nasties were down there just waiting for fresh meat. Oh hell. He took a hit of Mentats, and fell into an uneasy sleep once the high wore off.

The next day they set off down the road. Hancock walked silently compared to the hiss, and clunk of his power armored friend. They had made it relatively unscathed to the child of atom camp in the middle of the crater. Only a few Radscorpians popped in their path, and the two of them put them down easily enough. Zack politely asked the priestess if she had seen Virgil. She directed them to a cave on the edge of the sea. Zack headed there with renewed focus. Once they reached the cave they were greeted with turrets, and a protectron. Hancock cursed when he rounded a corner, and immediately took a bullet to his right arm. Zack squatted by the corner and slowly poked his rifle around the rock and aimed at the Turret. It exploded after a few hits. The man in the power armor checked to make sure Hancock was using a Stimpak on his arm before he crept further around the corner to get the other two turrets. They continued further into the cave and met a Super Mutant who went by the name of Virgil. The large green man asked that in return for his services, Zack needed to find a cure for him while he was in the Institute. Zack agreed of course, to Hancock’s pleasure, and they left the cave with a new purpose.

Zack was so happy to get a way into the Institute that he didn’t see the Deathclaw curled up on a rock below the cave face. It roared at them, and attacked them. Zack fell over, trying to skirt away from the raging Deathclaw, and Hancock slid behind a rock. He tried to divert the raging beast with a few blasts from his shotgun, but the creature was more interested in the easy prey on the ground. It smashed its massive foot down on Zack’s chest, and used its disgusting teeth to rip the helmet off Zack’s head. Panicked, Zack punched at the Deathclaw’s head, chest, or anywhere he could reach for that matter. Blood roared in his ears, as adrenaline coursed at high speed through his veins, and he thought that the Deathclaw’s foot was going to crush his heart. Luckily, the power armor was at least strong enough to not crush in on itself completely. He couldn’t hear anything over the terrible beast growls, and snarls. Hancock popped up from behind the rock, and opened fired on the Deathclaw. Hitting it directly in the side of its head. It reared back in anger, pushed off of Zack’s chest, and took off after the Ghoul. Hancock yelled something about becoming feral, and lead the Deathclaw away from his wounded friend. Disoriented, Zack tried to roll, and find his rifle. It was a few yards away from him, but his power armor chest piece had caved in some when the Deathclaw stepped on him. He could barely move, but he had to help Hancock. He rolled awkwardly, and hit the button to open his suit. It groaned and only opened far enough for him to squeeze out of it. Freely able to move, he didn’t even register the pain, or the violent click of his Pipboy, as he lurched for his rifle. Once it was in his hand, he turned, took aim, and opened fired on the Deathclaw. It died on top of Hancock. Heart in his throat, Zack ran to the fallen beast, and pushed against it to get it to roll off Hancock. The Ghoul pushed his hand out from under it, and Zack was able to pull him free.

“Brother, your power armor.” Hancock huffed to him, concern bright in his onyx eyes.

“It’s long gone.”

“We have to hurry then.” They helped each other hobble through the glowing sea. Zack looked sick by the time they got out of the radiation, and he threw up several times, as Hancock continued to drag him. “Come on big guy.” Hancock encouraged. “We have to get you to a settlement. You can collapse after that.” The walk to Hangman’s Alley was long and torturous. The Ghoul was sure that Zack was going to die. He even had to carry the man the rest of the way once they made it past the Coast Guard Pier. His legs burned from the effort of carrying the Sole survivor’s 200 pounds of muscle. There were several times that he thought he was not going to make it to his destination; narrowly avoiding Super Mutants and Gunner patrol. Finally, he made it to the Hangman’s Alley. He collapsed with Zack in his arms, just inside Zack’s little house he had built against the far wall from the entrance. He reached around Zack’s prone body, and got his hands-on Zack’s first aid kit.

“Come on. Come on.” He murmured to himself as he ripped into a package of Rad Away. He stuck the needle in the crook of Zack’s arm, and taped it down. “Please help him.” He whispered. He dragged Zack’s back against his chest, and wrapped his arms around him.

“Thank you, Hancock.” Zack murmured. Hancock squeezed him tight, and sighed in relief that Zack was still alive.

“You got a minute?” Hancock whispered in Zack’s ear. It wasn’t probably the best time for this but he wanted Zack to keep talking to him for a while. Just to make sure he was still alive.

“Hancock, I have severe radiation sickness. I probably have more than a minute.” Hancock laughed, and Zack tried to laugh too but it came out more choked. “What’s up?”

“Look, I needed to mention… Just you taking care of Bobbi. I ain’t proud of having to put you through that. That sort of dictatorial shit. Ain’t usually my style.”

“She tried to dupe us both. Dealing with her was the right move.” Zack coughed. He ran a hand through his hair on the side of his skull, and his hair just came right off in a clump. He grunted and let his hand drop to his lap with the hair still in his palm.

“True. But it doesn’t change the fact that she’s outta of the picture cause of us. Hell, that sorta bull’s the whole reason I became mayor in the first place. Some ass named Vic ran the town for I don’t know how long before that. Guy was scum. Used us drifters like his own personal piggy bank. He had this goon squad he’d use to keep people in line. Every so often he’d let them off the leash, go blow off some steam on the populace at large. Folks with homes could lock their doors, but us drifters, we got it bad. There was one night, some drifter said something to them. They cracked him open like a can of Cram on the pavement. And we all just stood there. Did nothing.”

“That’s a hard choice to make. I don’t envy you.”

“I appreciate you trying, but there’s no need to sugarcoat it. It was spineless, the way I acted. I felt like less than nothing. Afterwards, I got so high, I blacked out completely. When I finally came to, I was on the floor of the Old State House. Right in front of the clothes of John Hancock. John Hancock, first American hoodlum and defender of the People. I might’ve still been high, but those clothes spoke to me, told me what I needed to do. I smashed the case, put them on, and started a new life. As Hancock. After that, I went clean for a bit, got organized, convinced Kleo to loan me some hardware. Got a crew of drifters together and headed out into the ruins, started training. Next time Vic’s boys went on their tear, we’d be ready for ‘em.” Hancock fell silent for a minute, and just listened to Zack’s labored breathe. There was a short time that Hancock thought Zack wasn’t going to respond.

“The fact that you’re standing here and Vic isn’t would suggest things went well?” Zack finally replied.

“Oh yeah. So the night of, we all got loaded, let Vic’s boys get good and hammered, and burst from the windows and rooftops where we’d been hiding. They never saw it coming. We didn’t have to fire a shot. We didn’t have to, but we sure fucking did. It was a massacre. Once we mopped up, we strolled right into Vic’s quarters in the State House, wrapped a rope around his neck, and threw him off the balcony. And there I am, gun in hand, draped in Hancock’s duds, looking at all the people of Goodneighber assembled below. I had to say something. That first time I said ‘em, they didn’t even feel like my words. ‘Of the people, for the people.’ Was my inaugural address. Became Mayor Hancock of Goodneighbor that day. And from then on, I vowed I’d never stand by and watch. Ever again.”

“And you’re never going to have to. We’ll take care of the Commonwealth together.”

“Good. I just hope you get where I was coming from. I ain’t out to bring harm to anyone that didn’t earn it. Though I’m getting the distinct idea you got the same plan.” There was another long silence between them. “Well you should get some sleep. In the morning, we will have to look over your ribs.”

He heard footsteps behind him that brought him out of his thoughts. He continued to walk at a relaxed pace, and waited for an opportunity to discover who was following him.


	2. Chapter 2

Zack put stimpaks, rad away, and spare ammo into his pack before getting up and walking down the stairs to find Curie. Curie met him at the bottom of the stairs, and they took off down the road to Libertalia.

He hadn’t expected Hancock to take off the night before and head to Taffington Boathouse so soon. Usually the ghoul liked to see him off. Though if Zack was being honest with himself, Hancock probably got a little put off when Zack spaced out on him. He could only imagine it was frustrating for Hancock to have Zack so secretive about what exactly was going on. Not to mention, Zack’s continued ability to ignore when Hancock was all self-conscious about his ghoulish state.

It wasn't like Hancock had come out and said to Zack "I am self-conscious about being a ghoul." It was just something Zack had learned and assumed after traveling with Hancock for so long. The Ghoul practically exuded charm and sexual energy, but when you stripped that away Hancock really was ashamed of his ghoulish complexion. He just dropped hints every so often. Like, for example, when they first established their feelings, Hancock had said surely you don't want to be stuck with this mug for the rest of your life. Or sometimes he would make comments about how radiation would make Zack into a ghoul too and everything would be fine. Just little instances where Hancock would let down his shields for a split second, and Zack would see the true man standing before him.  
  
The sole survivor found himself too distracted on most days to even begin to reassure the ghoul that he was in fact attractive to him. Most other days, Zack found himself feeling extremely guilty about falling in love with the ghoul. His wife had been dead sixty years, but to him it only felt like a year. He had thought that maybe he could get back his son and then he could move on, but that was a far-off dream now that his son was forty years older than him. How sad it was that he was going to outlive his own son.

Anyway, he didn’t even mean to fall for the ghoul in the first place. He was just looking for a distraction, just like with many of the other companions.

It happened when they were at Sunshine Tidings Co-op, which was some weird summer camp type place that looked like it got turned into a peace loving pro robot camp. Professor Feelgoods was the only inhabitant along with a few feral ghouls. Professor Feelgoods was a Mr. Gutsy that was reprogrammed to be a hippy. Hancock had gotten, and still did, a kick at seeing the robot float all around the area yelling far out, and whoa man. Zack had investigated the terminal in the barn and discovered they could send the hippy bot back to where it was created, or reprogram it. Hancock insisted on keeping the robot as he was. Zack nodded his ascent and then got to work making the area into a livable settlement.

This was the first one he worked on with Hancock by his side, and honestly the ghoul was honored and excited to help. The first thing they did was build a huge fire and started to burn the bodies of the ghouls and the bodies of the poor fools who happened upon the ghouls. This process took about an hour or two but by then the sun was high up in the sky. Zack kept rubbing the sweat off his face with a rag but it formed just as quick as he wiped it away. Finally, he took off his leather jacket, and worked in his t-shirt and jeans for a while. When all the bodies were in the fire, they begun to pull the debris out of the old buildings, and threw that into the fire too. Next, they started to establish beds for them and the eventual settlers to sleep on. There were beds already, but one cabin had about five steel bed frames that needed mattresses. Hancock wasn't much of seamstress but at this point in their relationship he was willing to do anything for Zack. The vault dweller showed him how to sew the leather together, and then stuff it with cloth. Pillows, prewar money, and old clothes. Any cloth they could get their hands on were stuff into the mattresses.

After a few hours working on the mattresses, they were done, and it was time to set the plants in the ground. It required up turning the hard-packed ground in lines to make soil. By this time, the sun was high overhead and the heat of the day reached its peak. Zack striped off his shirt and threw it off to the side after about three minutes of working on the ground. Hancock stopped in his tracks to stare. Zack flexed his muscles on purpose so Hancock had to watch the ripple of muscle in his arms. If the ghoul could blush, he was sure his whole body would be pink. Zack’s lips upturned into a mischievous smile, and Hancock knew that Zack was basking in the Ghoul checking him out. To stop himself form doing something he would regret, the Ghoul started to talk, and kept his eyes firmly on ground.

“Being out here with you, it's made me realize. Most of my life to this point, I've been running out on the good things I got. I skipped out on my family, my life in Diamond City. Took up with you just to get outta Goodneighbor. Hell, running from myself is what made me into... into a damn Ghoul. But being here with you, for the first time in my life, things have just felt… right. And running, it’s the furthest thing from my mind. I mean, I left Goodneighbor thinking I was gonna just sharpen up the ol’ killer instinct. But whether it’s fate or destiny or just god damn coincidence, I ended up with someone like you. I turned one of the nastiest settlements in the Commonwealth into a refuge for the lost. I thought I’d done something I could hang my hat on. But being out here with you, it’s made me realize just how small time I’d been thinking. And that maybe all my running, from my life, myself… maybe it wasn’t such a bad thing after all.” Zack listened to all that Hancock had to say, and thought carefully about what the Ghoul was telling him. When Hancock didn’t continue, he looked up and found him watching him.

“Running from yourself? What do you mean?” Zack asked, and continued his work.

“Well, I mean, I didn’t always look this good.” Hancock chuckled sadly. “The drug that did this to me, that made me a Ghoul, I knew what it was going to do. I just couldn’t stand looking at the bastard I saw in the mirror anymore. The coward who’d let all those Ghouls from Diamond City die. Who was too scared to protect his fellow drifters from Vic and his boys.” Both men had stopped working now. They stared into each other’s eyes as Zack listened intently to Hancock’s story. “If I took it, I’d never have to look at him again. I could put that all behind me. I’d be free. Didn’t seem like a choice at all. Turns out it was just me running from somethin’ else in my life.” Hancock swallowed down the lump in his throat. His chest felt like it had an iron block sitting atop it. Zack’s expression was unreadable, and he wanted more than anything to know what Zack was thinking.

“You may have run, but you always ran for a reason, Hancock.” The Ghoul let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. His shoulders slumped as a weight was lifted off him. He kept his eyes on Zack’s beautiful green ones.

“Been trying to convince myself of that for a long time, but hearing that coming from someone like you… I don’t know if you understand what that means to me. So lemme get to the point. Throwing in with you has been the best decision I’ve ever made. It’s like I found a part of myself I never realized was missing… Which happens when you’re a Ghoul. If I hadn’t taken up with you, I’d probably be in a gutter somewhere, getting gnawed on by Radroaches. You have been one hell of a friend.”

“Have you ever thought about us as maybe more than just friends?”

“Heh. It that obvious? But come on. You don’t want to wake up to this mug every morning. Never wish that on anyone I cared for.”

“You’re just the way I like. Screw anyone who makes you feel ashamed.”

“Wasn’t thinking about the folks doing the shaming… Heh. Moments like this, I know all that karma stuff is bull. Because no one like me should be this lucky. Come on, love. Let’s get this freakshow on the road.”

They continued their work, but the heat was not abating. Zack smiled at him, and made full eye contact as he slid his pants off next. Hancock dropped his shovel, and stared right at Zack’s hard cock straining against his white underwear. Hancock licked his lips, but didn’t move as he tried to figure out what to do. He wasn’t ready for this, but goddammit Zack had a great body, and a huge cock. Hancock finally looked up into Zack’s eyes. The look he was greeted with scared the shit out of him. It was like Zack had taken on the look of a hungry Deathclaw or something. It melted Hancock’s insides, and it almost made his own cock spring to life. Which surprised him since his dick hadn’t worked since the day he turned himself into a ghoul. It was obvious that Zack wanted some nooky but how the hell was Hancock supposed to tell him it could only be a one-way street? Maybe that was the karma he was waiting for. He just became the happiest man alive by having his feelings reciprocated and now he had to ruin it because he couldn’t preform. He heard the stories from Cait and MacCready. He knew that Zack loved sex, and most of all he loved giving as much as he received.

Hancock waited too long, and now Zack’s forehead was breaking out in frown lines. He fidgeted with his shovel a little bit, as though he was going to go back to work. The ghoul took a step towards him, and sank to his knees before him. With his hands, he grabbed the edge of Zack’s underwear, and started to pull them down. Zack gasped softly when his rigid cock contacted the warm air. One of his hands knocked Hancock’s hat to the ground, and smoothed over the crown of Hancock’s bald head. The ghoul left his underwear around his thighs, placed one hand along the curve of Zack’s hip, his other hand grasped the bottom of his Zack’s cock, and he leaned forward to lick at the head. Zack gasped again, causing Hancock to look up at him. His eyes were closed and his head was tipped up to the sky. Feeling bolder, Hancock took the whole length into his mouth, and sucked softly. He gained speed, and tempo, and allowed Zack to come down the back of his throat. The sole survivor dropped to his knees in front of Hancock, and kissed the Ghoul full on the mouth, and wrapped his arms around Hancock’s shoulders. He tasted himself on the Ghoul’s lips before Hancock jerked away from him. He let his arms fall away, opened his eyes and stared at Hancock.

“Hancock…” He whispered in question. The ghoul kissed him and then drew back again.

“It’s alright, love.” Hancock whispered back. “We have a lot of work to do.” He stood, and held out a hand to Zack. He took it, and quickly pulled his underwear back into place. They worked in silence for the rest of the day.

Since that day, Zack and Hancock haven’t had any more sexual contact.

The other companions on the other hand, Zack has had lots of sex with them. Individually, not at all the same time. None of them came as close to winning over Zack as Hancock had come. All of them had been companions, and distractions. He liked to think they were still around because of loyalty to him for helping them, but deep down he knew it was because they loved him more than he loved them.  
  
Cait had been the first one. He had found her brawling for caps to entertain a bunch of Raiders at a bar called the combat zone. Zack had killed them all, and he had taken over her contract from the old ghoul who ran the place. That night when they made camp outside the Commons she went down on him after he had fallen asleep. After that he quickly learned that she fucked him when the drugs called her name and she had none to take her away. She stopped having surprise sex with him when he took her to vault 91 to cure her of her Chem addiction. After that she was more affectionate towards him in the sex department. He ended it with her soon after that. She had confessed her love for him and he let her down as easily as possible. At the time, he only wanted a distraction from the harsh road ahead. She took it about as well as anyone could who had shit thrown at them their whole life, but she still hung around.  
  
McCready had been the next one to fall for the 240-year-old ex-military man. It took him a lot longer than Cait to come around. They connected over their common stories of lost love, and endangered children. McCready looked like he needed a hug when he told Zack the story of his wife's death and his child's illness, and Zack was more than happy to provide that hug. One thing led to another, and McCready found himself on all fours being plowed from behind. McCready was certainly the neediest of the bunch. He was always telling Zack that he thought the man had forgotten about him. Zack had a hard time of letting McCready down. Even after he accepted the truth he still pined away for the man.  
  
Curie had come somewhat of a surprise when he helped her into a synth body. He hadn't been expecting her to suddenly have all these feelings for him. It had been a hard choice for him to pass her up. He had to debate about it for several days. After all she was a virgin in every sense of the word. Finally, he let her down as easy as he could. He wasn't looking for a relationship. He refused when she told him that she still wanted to experience sex, and who better then Zack?  
  
Piper had been the easy-going companion about the whole affair. She volunteered to help him if he gave her a story for her newspaper. He told her some of his story; mostly just about his son Shaun. He accepted her help to find Shaun after that. She had eventually come on to him over a campsite fire. No strings attached and she was perfectly fine with that. He made it just as clear as she had made it. She didn't even have a problem when he committed himself to Hancock. She understood that Zack had fallen in love. She shrugged it off and moved on. Last he knew she was getting it on with Preston.

After a few hours of traveling on the road, they finally found X6-88 outside the entrance to the docks. They had to fight their way through the raiders, and try to navigate the many planks leading to the main ship where the Synth was hiding. Tactically, this was a horrible idea. There were too many hiding places for the raiders to shoot at them, and a lot of high up nests with easy view to the planked path below. There was no cover. Luckily, a Brotherhood of Steel Vertibird flew overhead, which was the perfect distraction to the raiders. The Vertibird swooped around, and the Knights onboard opened fire on the raiders. Zack, and Curie were then able to sneak along, and take out each raider, one at a time. Unfortunately, X6-88 also opened fired on the Vertibird. Zack urged Curie forward, and continued their progress as fast as possible. Hopefully, the Vertibird would survive, and more importantly the Vertibird wouldn’t spot him.

He wasn’t ready to severe his ties with the Brotherhood just yet. He wanted to believe in Shaun, but something in the back of his head was telling him not to.

They made it to the lift, activated it, and started to shoot at a Raider who was waiting at the other end. Behind them, X6-88 was waiting for them to reach their destination so he could follow them. He took cover behind the railing, and continued to fire at the Vertibird. He shot it out of the sky just as they reach the boat. Zack jumped off the lift, raised his rifle, and opened fire on the raider who had been waiting for them. Curie bashed another raider in the face with her Assault Rifle, and shot him in the head when he hit the ground. They continued to climb the boat and decided to wait for X6-88 at the ladder to the deck. They all climbed the ladder together, and faced the synth together too.

Zack deactivated the Synth, and all hell broke loose from the rest of the raiders. X6-88 took four of them out before diving into cover. Zack took the next two out, and Curie took care of the last raider. The courser took the synth back with him, and left Zack and Curie behind.

“Thank you for the help Curie. Why don’t you head back to Starlight Drive-In?”

“Zack, may I ask you something?” Curie said after she nodded to his orders.

“Shoot.”

“If you continue to work with them, do you think they will want to do that to me as well?” Her question surprised him. Lately, he had come to see her as a human, and therefore forgot that she really wasn’t.

“I won’t allow them to do that.” He replied slowly.

“How can you promise that?” She asked, surprising him even more.

“Because, Shaun won’t do anything to compromise my relationship with him.” She nodded at him, and hoped that was true. It had seemed to her that Zack was “putting a leap of faith” in his long-lost son. Truly, Zack had no way of knowing if that was true. “Don’t worry, Curie. I’ll see you later.” And he was gone in a flash of blue light. Curie had learned to put her faith and trust in Zack, so she didn’t give it another thought.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed! Leave me a comment if you would so like!
> 
> I done goofed up. I originally was going to add the youtube video at the end of this fic so you all could see my Starlight Drive-in Settlement the way Ruby looks at it, however I posted two of the same video with my new Settlement. Darn! anyhow below is a link to my settlement rebuilt, like it is later in the fic.
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Io4mNTCAjrg


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